The Protective Effect of Dextran-Curcumin Conjugate on Memory Disorder in Animal Model of Global Cerebral Ischemia

Ischemic stroke is a major cause of mortality all over the world. Among impairments observed in ischemic survivors, there is considerable cognitive learning and memory impairment. The purpose of this study was to determine the protective effect of dextran-curcumin conjugate on memory impairment and cerebral infarct volume in the animal model of global cerebral ischemia. In this experimental study, 35 rats were divided into 5 groups. Pre-treatment and positive control groups were treated with curcumin and dextran-curcumin conjugate (15 mg/kg orally) for 30 days. The control and ischemia groups received distilled water. For induction of global cerebral ischemia model, right and left carotid arteries were clamped for 5 min by vascular clamps and then the vascular clamps were removed after 10 min, and in the following, the carotid arteries were clamped again for 5 min and finally the vascular clamps were removed and blood circulation was returned to both carotid arteries. Forty-eight hours after induction of the model, memory impairment was assessed by Novel Object Recognition Test. The cerebral infarct volume was measured by 2,3,5-triphenyl tetrazolium chloride (TTC). In this study, discrimination index showed a significant decrease (p ˂ 0.05) in the ischemic group and a significant increase (p ˂ 0.01) in the curcumin and dextran-curcumin pretreatment groups. Moreover, the cerebral infarct volume significantly decreased in dextran-curcumin group compared to the ischemic group (p < 0.05). The findings of this study revealed that dextran-curcumin conjugate can improve cognition and memory disorders induced by global cerebral ischemia